Smoke Notes

The Chocolate City in question here is Washington DC, a hotbed of black culture and the first US city to have a radio station dominated by black urban music. Funkadelic had enjoyed success in DC as early as 1971 and by the time this album arrived in 1975, Clinton and company had a loyal following. It is also the groups first concept album, in being the story of the parties, people and politics of an urban landscape. The title track replaces congress with the chief figures in black culture; Clintons rap rewriting the constitution for a future generation. Ride On is one of the bands finest moments with the brilliant Put a hump in your back hook sampled many times. Together sounds like Van McCoys The Hustle given the Parliament groove treatment while Let Me Be is blues in the concert chamber. Side Effects is a straight up party jam to tear the roof off the sucker. A hugely influential album, 'Chocolate City' has affected artists as diverse as Living Colour and Outkast, not only musically but culturally and politically, and shows the genius that is George Clinton at his peak of creative control, and not suffering like many of the groups projects from a washed out acid mentality. Recommended. Remastered with bonus tracks.